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l L. o. ORTON. GROSS TIE AND PASTBNING FOR RAILRGAD RAILS.1\Io.'290,'793.v Patented Dec. 25, 1883.

` PATENT frieren,

LYMAN O. ORTON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- FOURTH'IO RICHARD M. POPHAM, OF SAME PLACE.

CROSS-TIE AND FASTENING FOR RAILROAD!RA|LS.A

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 290,79?, dated December25, 1883. Application filed Juue 14, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LYMAN O. OR'roN, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Penn- 5Sylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cross-Ties andFastenings for Railroad-Rails, which improvement is fully set forth inthe following specification and accompanying drawings, in which- Figurel is a top view of a cross-tie and fastening for railroad-railsembodying my i11- vention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 isa vertical section in line x x, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of adetached portion.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

My invention consists of fastenings for the rails of a railroad, wherebythey will be securely held without the aid of bolts, nuts, or pins, andany increase in the load upon the rails will proportionately tighten thegrip of the clamps, as will bel hereinafter set forth.

It also consists of a novel mode of connecting the fastenings andcross-ties.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a metallic cross-tie, in whichis an opening for a wedge-shaped box, B, the upper end whereof has aflange, c, whereby the box is sustained in position on the tie. Theinner face of the box is recessed on opposite sides, and in the recessesare fitted fillings C, of wood or other comparatively elastic material,which project sufficiently beyond the surrounding walls of the box toreceive the impact of clamping- 35 jaws D D, which are tted to the sidesof a wedge-shaped block,E,thelatter being adapted to enter the box B.Each jaw D has its upper end, b, curved or bent, forming flanges toelnbrace one side of the base of the rail, and the bottom is flanged orbent, as at c, to engage with a shoulder, d, on the side of the block E.A lip, c, also projects from the inner face of the jaw below the upperend, b, and rests on a shoulder, f, near the top of the block E, itbeing noticed that the rail rests on the top of the said block E, andhas the sides of its base fitted between the ends b and lips c of thejaws D.

It will beseen that when the rail and jaws are placed in position on theblock and the latter introduced into the box the jaws come in contactwith the fillings C and tighten thereagainst, whereby the rail is firmlyclamped by the jaws and securely held, it being evident that theincrease in the load upon the rails will proportionately tighten thegrip of the jaws. rlhe shoulders d and flanges c prevent the jaws fromrising or upward displacement when the block and jaws are introducedinto the box B, and the lips e and shoulders f serve to retain the jawsin position when primarily fitted to the block. rIhe fillings C are sodisposed that they remain firmly in position, and are prevented frombeing battered on their upper edges by downward action of the jaws, suchaction being exerted on the contiguous faces of the filling and simplycompressing the same without injury thereto. The taper of the outerfaces of the jaws coincide with that of the portion of the block E belowsaid jaws, so that the jaws and block coincide with the angle orinclination of the inner faces of the fillings C, and are flushtherewith. Furthermore, the tightening action of the jaws is positivelyeffected by the fillings C, providing an elastic support for the blockE, the benefits of which are imparted to the rail.

In order to prevent upward displacement of the box B, there isexteriorly on one side thereof a lip, g, forming with the flange a abovethe same a groove, g', to receive the wall of the opening in thecross-tie in which said box is iitted. rIhe opening is leugthened, andthe wall of the side opposite to the lip q is formed into a lip, h,which is primarilybent down, as seen in Fig. 3. When the box isintroduced into the opening, it is inserted in the side of said openingadjacent to the lip h, and thenmoved to the opposite side, whereby thegroove g' receives the respective wall of the opening. The lip h is nowbent up from below against the flange c and body of the box, whereby thelatter is prevented from being moved laterally, and as the lip g isinterlocked with the cross-tie, vertical motion of the box is alsoprevented.

The tie may be made of a continuous 'piece for the two rails, or a piecefor each rail, as

desired, andthe ballasting may be of any desirable nature, it beingevident that the objections to wooden ties are avoided. The top of theblock is right angular to its vertical axis; but it may be inclined orcanted, as indioatedlby dotted lines, when so required by the nature ofthe road.

Having thus described iny invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is"

l. A rail-fastening having` a pair of jaws, a

wedge-shaped bloel; interposed between said jaws and supporting thesaine, and a wedgeshaped box receiving said jawsrand block, the railbeingY adapted to rest directly on said block, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth. i 2. A wedge-shaped box, in combination with awedge-shaped block and jaws, said block being recessed to receive thejaws forming the sides of the block and jaws iush and tapering,substantially as and Afor the purpose set forth.

3. Abox having recesses on its inner sides, in combination withfilling-pieces, a block and jaws, said block being interposed betweenthe jaws and sustaining the rail and said jaws, the sides of the blockand jaws being tapering and engaging with the lling-pieces withoutliability to rest on the top thereof, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. A rail-fastening consisting of a box with filling-pieces, a blockformed with shoulders at top and bottom, and jaws flanged at top andbottoni and provided with lips below the top ilanges, substantially asand for the purpose set forth. Y

5. In a rail-fastening, a box provided with a groove, in combinationwith a cross-tie having an opening and lip, whereby the box and tie areconnected, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

LYMANY O. ORTON.

Cl/witnesses:

Einw. E. lixsox, A. l?. GRANT.

